The Aviary
by ChillyIce
Summary: Non-canon companion pieces for "Birds of a Feather".
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hi there, and welcome to a companion to my other fic, Birds of a Feather. So many of you have sent requests and I will get to them. Though this one from Artesy is a bit time sensitive since it is a Christmas omake. Or should I say nondescript winter holiday. As stated before these are all not canon in any way without further ado here's a bit of Christmas. Merry Christmas.

* * *

Shiloh never thought she would dislike anything, she took everything in stride. She was even tempered and there wasn't anything to rattle her. But she hated this. The wind was cold and blowing on her face. Though wind shouldn't be the problem; there was plenty of wind from her home. It was the cold. It was the snow that coated everything, sending the world to a peaceful sleep. With the vegetation dying, the blind girl could only see the auras of her motely team. The various colors bright in the dying color around them. "Hey, you need help there?" Asher asked, his voice concerned rather than the joking or flirtatious tone he normally have.

"Your offer is kind, but to take the easy path would be like forsake my personal growth," Shiloh said. She shivered slightly in the cold. Asher chuckled standing a bit closer to her.

"The wind is picking up. We should find shelter before it gets worse," Robin's more commanding voice called out. Shiloh listened as the rest of the group debated on the direction to go. Either back from the small village they left from or forward in the hopes to find shelter. They decided forward.

Asher stayed by Shiloh's side. They were joined by Salken, the taller man getting to her left. Judging from the mixing colors in front of her, Jay and the others were doing the same huddling together for warmth. Shiloh squinted her eyes against the wind. Her right foot sunk deep into snow. Salken righted her and guided her along.

"I see a building," Tanya called out. She sounded happy and relief which was better than her normal paranoid self in Shiloh's opinion at least. "What if someone lives there?" she asked, nervousness filling her voice.

"Then Jay can just bribe them a little," Asher responded with a laugh. Shiloh chuckled and she could hear Harriet as well.

"I am starting to run low. Someone keeps eating all my gold pieces," Jay responded with false heat.

"A goblin?" Salken asked excited. "It has to be some fantastic creature. None of us have been eating gold."

"I meant Asher has expensive taste," Jay clarified.

"Though he could be adding gold shavings to his meals," Robin added.

"Hey, I'm not the only one who spending too much money. You bought all of us coats, including Oriole and she isn't even here," Asher complained.

"Asher has a point," Harriet added amused. By this point the group was at the door to the small cabin. Shiloh couldn't see it, but Salken and Asher filled her in. Taking point, Robin knocked on the door. The group waited with baited breath. The snow was starting to fall. The white flakes building on their shoulders. Shiloh sniffled.

"Just kick it in," Asher said, pushing his way to the front before kicking the door down. Or at least Shiloh assumed that he did so. Salken guided her after the rest of the group. She sighed in relief. The wind was gone, blocked by what smelt of wood. The group of colors lowered themselves to the floor.

Tanya stood up first. She was lifting something that Shiloh couldn't see. Moments later, the blind girl could feel the warmth of the fire. She moved closer to it stopping it when Harriet reached out with a pink aura hand on her shoulder. "So now what?" Asher asked.

"We warm up some food and bunk down here till the storm passes," Robin replied. "I hope you all like potato stew... again."

The group fell asleep with full bellies after conversations and stories about past nondescript winter holidays.

Shiloh woke up to someone shaking her. From the excited voice, it had to be Salken. She opened her red eyes to see Robin's green aura. He had to be fearful from the way his aura felt. "Is there danger?" she asked.

"Someone broke in," Robin responded. "Tanya is checking the perimeter again."

"I thought this was abandoned," Shiloh responded.

"I was positive it was. I just don't understand how they snuck past me," Robin said, seriousness weighing down his voice.

"What did they do?" Shiloh asked, now worried searching for Jay's blue aura.

"Presents," Salken's voice broke through. "The magic elf brought presents."

RWBY~RWBY~RWBY

Oriole ran up ahead, hurrying to the tall man in front of her. "So what did you do for Nondescript Winter Holiday?" she asked Carmine.

The mercenary turn to barely face her. "It wasn't really celebrated where I was from," he responded without much heartache. The princess gasped.

"But that is the best time of year. With sweets and presents and family stuff," Oriole said words running together.

"I didn't really celebrate it either," Roux added, "I don't think most Faunus do."

Oriole shook her head, "My servants did so every year. But that doesn't matter. It should be a crime for Nondescript Winter Holiday to be celebrated. " She would have spread her arms out to show her displeasure, but they were bound in front of her. Carmine looked unamused while Roux just laughed.

"Carmine, Faunus," a deep voice called to them. The trio turn to face a man with striking blue eyes approach them.

"Happy Nondescript Winter Holiday, Demetri," Oriole chirped. "You know I would really like to visit home for the holidays."

Demetri narrowed his eyes into a glare. He didn't even bother to respond instead, facing the two he called. "Amari wants you to go with the hunting party," he ordered the mercenary. "And you, the laundry."

Roux groaned and made some quip while Carmine just nodded and left the group. "Hey, don't wander off too far, Oriole," she warned as she walked away. Oriole waved them off as they went away.

"I guess, it's just me and you then," she said with a grin. Demetri frowned, grabbing her arm roughly. He pulled her to the center of the encampment.

"Sit and Stay," he ordered, turning to walk away. Oriole watched him enter his tent before getting to her feet. She had to do something about the travesty that Carmine and Roux just admitted to. She pouted as she thought. A wide grin spread across her face. Looking once again at Demetri's tent, she hurried to Amari's tent.

"Hey," she called out as she entered. Amari sat on her bed roll, glaring at the princess. "Do you still have those cookies you bought from the last village we passed?" she asked.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," the shaved woman responded.

"Yea, you do. I saw you eat one just this morning along with a bit of chocolate," Oriole countered.

"What do you want?" Amari growled, getting to her feet.

"I want to trade," Oriole responded, "Chocolate and cookies for um, this." The orange-haired girl tugged at the silky orange material that created another layer over her skirt. "It's real silk. Worth a lot." She held out the torn fabric. "Or you could use it to cover your bald head."

"Oriole," the woman growled again though she grabbed the fabric from the princess. Her rough fingers rolled over the soft fabric. She tossed the orange cloth on her bed roll. Grabbing a bag hidden in her things, she tossed it to the girl who caught it clumsily. "They were gross anyways," the woman grumbled.

Oriole cheered exited the tent without a thank you. She opened the bag to see the sweets inside. She hurried to her next target. "Hey, Demetri," she called out, entering his tent unannounced. The man was sharpening one of his many knifes.

"I thought I told you to stay," Demetri said.

Oriole shrugged. "Do you want a bar of chocolate?" she asked, reaching into her bag to pull some out. The blue eyes focused in on the bar in her hand. He reached out to grab it. The princess pulled it away. "I'll trade you for it," she said.

Demetri grumbled, "What do you want?"

"One of your knifes. It can be a dull one," Oriole responded.

"Out," Demetri commanded.

"I'm not going to escape," she whined as he pushed her out. She marched to the center of the camping ground and plopped to the ground in a huff. To her left, one of the younger men was whittling away at a small piece of wood. "Do you have any finished pieces?" she asked.

The young man nodded, reaching into his bag to pull out a wooden wild cat and wolf. "I got this," he responded. "They aren't worth much since I messed up."

"Are they worth a bar of chocolate?" the princess asked, offering the bar to him. The man nodded, wrapping the pieces in his bandana and giving it to the girl. She gave him the chocolate. "Thank you," she replied as he began to munch on the sweet. She got to her feet again, walking to her own tent that she shared with Carmine and Roux. The whittler followed behind, keeping an eye on her. Oriole put them down before looking up at the tree branches. She walked along the tree until she found what she was looking for.

…..

Carmine trudged back to the camp. He brought the kill to the others to dress and cook. Roux bounded up beside him, looking miserable and wet. As he entered the place where the three slept, he searched for his captive. "Where is Oriole?" he asked. There was a whistle and the two looked up. Hanging in the branch over head, was the princess. She held a branch with white berries in her hand and a cheeky grin.

"Heya, so the bird name wasn't random," Roux called out.

The girl groaned. "Don't you get it?" she asked, shaking the branch in her hand. "It's mistletoe. You guys got to kiss." Roux gave Carmine a sideways glance and he glared up at the girl. She sighed. "Fine, just catch me then," she relented. She dropped herself down. Carmine acted quickly, speeding up to catch her. She landed heavily in his arms. She laughed, quickly pecking his cheek. The man dropped her and she dropped the mistletoe as well. Roux laughed, wiping her eyes.

"Are you done?" Carmine asked, unamused. Oriole shook her head, running to the small fire the group had. The other two followed wearily.

"I made soup, tada," she said, sitting herself down excitedly. Roux served the food into bowls and the three sat down. The faunus ate it first, face twisting.

"This is uh pretty bad. What's in it?" she asked.

"Mistletoe, that was all I can find," Oriole responded. Roux and Carmine dumped their bowls while the Faunus spat out.

"That's poisonous, Oriole," Carmine said.

"Oh, oops. I, uh, sorry for almost killing you. Here's this instead," the girl reached behind her and pulled out two cloth bundles tied with orange ribbon. She gave one to each. Carmine looked at it suspiciously. "Open it, it won't kill you."

Roux shrugged opening hers first. The cloth fell away to reveal a couple of cookies, a half bar of chocolate, and a wooden wildcat. She looked at Carmine who had a similar gift except with a wooden wolf. "Happy Nondescript Winter Holiday," Oriole said smiling. Both Carmine and Roux looked at each other then back at the gift and back to the girl. They returned the greeting back.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Chapter two. A bit later than I wanted, but real life got hectic for a little bit there. I am hoping to knock out a couple of prompts in this chapter. As a reminder, these drabbles are not "canon" to Birds of a Feather. They are just a fun way to explore characters. So no ships are definite in the story.

* * *

To say that the band of adventurers were quiet would be an outright lie. Robin was positive that every Grimm and game could hear the group. He put his hands on top of his head. It did little to help with the noise. He let his hands with a sigh. He stopped causing the others to stop as well. Jay looked confused while Tanya's eyes started looking for danger. "You are louder than a herd of Goliaths . If we are going to have any chance of getting Oriole, we need to work on stealth," Robin said with a unwavering voice.

"I thought I was doing well," Harriet said a small frown on her face.

"You're the exception," Robin clarified. The girl straightened her posture a bit more confident.

"It's a waste of time," Jay replied. Asher nodded his agreement, arms crossed.

"You two are the worst," Robin replied. The girls giggled. Ivy patted the prince on the arm, but she smiled slightly. Salken finally lowered his book to look at the group, wondering why everyone was laughing. "Alright, now that we are in agreement. Jay stand beside this tree." After a moment, Robin had his students lined up in a single file line. Harriet was the first in line. She looked slightly nervous, but Robin gave her a small encouraging smile. He walked away from the group, leaving several yards of fallen leaves between them. He sat down cross-legged on the ground and closed his eyes. "This is a simple exercise. You just have to walk your way to me with out me hearing you," he instructed.

"That sounds easy enough," Asher said confidently. Although Robin couldn't see the other, he was sure that he was standing with his arms crossed still.

"Pride comes before the fall, Asher," Shiloh replied wisely.

"Harriet, you can come over now," Robin said, interrupting the pair. The group got quiet and the natural sound of the forest filled the emptiness. He could hear the wind whistling through the branches overhead. He could hear the leaves rustling as they quivered above. There was the softest of crunch underneath a boot. "Stop, you are approximately five yards from where you started," Robin said, opening his eyes to see Harriet looking at him impressed. The green-cloaked man cleared his throat. "Well done. Next." This exercise continued for another hour. None of the group had managed to make it more than half of the distance between them and Robin.

Every time Robin opened his eyes he could see the frustration on each of their faces. Even Salken looked upset, while Ivy looked worn. Asher was the one who looked like he was going to start a fight. "So are we to believe that you can do this? It must have come so naturally to you," the dark-haired man finally blurted, green eyes shooting daggers at him. Robin stopped as a memory crossed his mind.

 _A younger Robin hid behind a tree. He was breathing heavily. "Son, half of the forest can hear you," his step-father's voice called out. It was the only warning before Robin heard a whistling sound. Something hard struck his shoulder. He yelped at the sting, looking at a dummy arrow with a rock instead of a point. Robin dived to the left as another arrow flew where he was standing previously. The young man hurried to his feet. He ran zig-zagging through the trees before pulling himself into the high branches of a yew tree. He leaned into the tree, trusting the green color of his clothing to blend into the foliage. "Son, now you are just insulting me." Another arrow bruised his leg._

 _Robin tucked bits of branches into his clothing before ducking into a bush. There was a laugh before another arrow landed. Robin painted his face with mud and hid amongst the roots of a tree. An arrow found him once again._

Robin came back to the present to see the group looking at him with a bit of confusion. He pushed the montage down. "You're right. It did come naturally."

(A/N): Thank you SnowBrawnen for the idea.

RWBY~RWBY~RWBY

Demetri frowned as he watched Amari count out the gold pieces to the man in front of her. The tall man with dark red hair watched with his brown eyes counting every coin. "Here's your wage for the next week," Amari stated, dropping the coins into the mercenary's hand. Demetri huffed as the man left the tent. "It is nice to do business with you, Carmine." Carmine nodded without a word and exited the tent.

"Just a ray of sunshine, that one," Demetri commented. He stepped in front of Amari, he stood at attention.

"I didn't forget your wage," Amari said with a slight smile. She dropped two silver coins into Demetri's hand. The blue-eyed man looked at the two shining coins before glancing outside the tent to see Carmine pocketing his money.

"Not that I am ungrateful. But why did you give _him_ more money. Haven't I been loyal. My men and I have done everything you asked," Demetri complained. Amari looked slightly amused. She rubbed her chin, thinking. "We don't need an overpaid mercenary like him."

"If you think so, bring me his gauntlets," Amari replied. "They are the most valuable thing." Demetri laughed at the easy task.

"And if I bring them?" he asked.

"You will get what I would pay him," Amari answered, a grin on her face. Demetri grinned as well, promising to bring the weapon as soon as possible. He left the tent with a bit of pride in his step.

The first thing he had to do was to get the gauntlets off of the other. Carmine never seemed to take them off though. Demetri was sure he slept with them on. He stepped quietly to where Carmine was camping. Hiding behind a tree, he watched the tall man. He talked to the Faunus girl the two sitting down. Whatever the girl said must have been amusing since she was laughing. Carmine didn't portray his amusement if he felt that at all. He responded to the Faunus though Demetri couldn't hear what was said.

The two looked comfortable talking to each other and Demetri was starting to get bored of watching the pair. The two turned back to their tent to see the princess step out of it. She stumbled a bit before sitting to Carmine's left, leaving the mercenary in the middle. She yawned and stretched before responding to the Faunus. Carmine said something to her and the princess got to her feet before disappearing into the woods. Demetri almost ran out to stop her, but Carmine stood as well.

"You know, it's creepy to watch people from trees," a female voice said. Demetri jumped, turning to see the princess who started to laugh.

Another female laugh joined the princesses. "Wow, frightened by a little princess. What a mighty warrior you are," the Faunus said, a teasing tone drenching her voice. "What are you doing?"

"It doesn't matter," Demetri replied angrily.

"For something that didn't matter. You have been here for quite a while," the Faunus responded.

"Oh, I know. He has a crush on you," the princess said. "You perv."

"How do you know it is not you?" the Faunus teased. The princess gasped with a mock horrified tone. Both girls started to laugh again.

Demetri wrinkled his nose at their suggestions. He thought he would get sick there. "If I told you, would you leave me alone?"

Both girls looked at each other and shrugged. "Maybe," the princess responded.

"Fine, I am just need to take Carmine's gauntlets for... um... repairs," Demetri lied. "He just needs to set them down and I'll get it taken care of." The girls looked at each other. They made weird motions, speaking in that wordless way that it seemed only females knew how to do.

"We'll help you," the princess said.

"At a cost," the Faunus answered.

"What is it?" Demetri asked.

"Your shoes," the Faunus said. Demetri agreed. What did a coat matter when he can just buy himself a brand new one with his extra gold. "Great. Nice doing business with ya." The two girls walked back to the camp. Demetri couldn't tell what they told the mercenary, but he set down his gauntlets before walking off with the pair. The blue-eyed man grinned. This was just too easy. He trotted to the gauntlets that lay glinting in the firelight. He reached down to pick them up. .. they didn't budge. Demetri squared his feet and tried again. The metal refused to leave the ground. Demetri could hear the princess's loud voice coming closer. Desperate, he started to drag the gauntlets. The heavy metal were leaving a trail in the fallen leaves.

"You're back already?" the princess's voice called out causing the man to jump. He gave them an awkward smile. "He was getting your gauntlets repaired," the princess said. Demetri could swear that the two girls were laughing at him.

"Thank you," Carmine said, walking to the man before plucking the gauntlets from the ground and putting them back on. Demetri stared slack-jawed.

"Time to pay up," the Faunus said.

(A/N:) thank you ,alucard deathsinger for the idea.

RWBY~RWBY~RWBY

Harriet twisted her fingers. She looked at the green-haired thief who was doing push-ups. She shuffled closer to him. "Um, Robin?" she greeted. Robin turned his amber eyes toward her.

"Yes, Harriet?" he answered, pushing himself to a sitting position. He wiped his sweat off his forehead.

"I was wondering. Uh, I was wondering if we can... If you can teach me to track," she asked, not quite looking him in the eyes.

"Of course, I did promise you after all," Robin said, getting to his feet. He was her height, so his eyes were level with her. "We need something to track," he added, looking around them.

The others were inside Ivy's hut, resting. At this moment, Asher walked out of the door whistling to himself. "Perfect," Robin said with a grin. He padded to Asher with Harriet right behind him. Asher, seeing them coming waved at them.

"We need your assistance, Asher," Robin said.

Asher's green eyes looked at Harriet. "Sure, anything for the lovely Harriet," Asher replied.

"Very good," Robin replied, "We are playing a game of hide-and-seek. Of a sort. Go hide and we'll find you."

Asher looked uncertain. "Sure," he said unconvinced. He started to walk into the forest.

"We'll give him a couple of minutes before finding him," Robin said. "It must be nice to have someone so devoted to you."

"I wouldn't say it is something to be desired," Harriet responded. "I mean. I like that he thinks I'm pretty, I think." She ran her fingers through her hair.

"Take it as a compliment. You are beautiful," Robin responded. He didn't see the blush that spread across her cheeks. "I think he is ready."

"Oh, um. Yes. So what do we do first?" Harriet asked, looking down at the ground as her face cooled slightly.

Robin kneeled close to the ground, motioning her to do so as well. Harriet kneeled beside him. She could feel Robin close to her. He reached around her. He pointed to the ground. Harriet blushed again. "Do you see where the grass is bent out of shape?" Harriet nodded a little stiffly. Robin smiled, a warm sort of smile.

The two found Asher after ten minutes. Asher left the two when he found out he was used. Though he wasn't upset. Harriet and Robin were left alone again. "You did well," Robin said, putting a hand on Harriet's shoulder.

"I had a good teacher," Harriet responded. The two walked back to Ivy's hut. Harriet smiled to herself. This seemed so natural. She didn't need to talk and the silence didn't ask for it.

"It is a bit warm for an autumn afternoon," Robin noted. Harriet nodded in agreement. Robin reached up to his hood and she stopped. She had never seen him take the green hood off. His amber eyes looked at her, they were looking through her. With a small smile, he pushed the hood back.

(A/N:) SnowBrawnen thank you for this idea.


End file.
